William Francis Daly

Going against the tide of anti-Japanese sentiment decades ago, Bill Daly opened a car lot selling Japanese cars. It became a booming business, turning the once exclusively used car dealer into a millionaire..

Mr. Daly, of Lighthouse Point, died Wednesday night. He was 90.Born in Chicago, Mr. Daley came to South Florida at the request of his first wife who "liked the lighthouse and the palm trees. It's bright and colorful; Chicago is gray," said his son, Kevin Daly.

Once here, he found a lot and opened a used car dealership, like the one he ran in Chicago. It was 1963, and in rural Pompano Beach, Federal Highway was only a two-lane street.In 1967, Datsun, a Japanese company (renamed Nissan in the 1980s) was trying to establish a foothold in Broward County. But Kevin Daly said none of the car dealers in the area would sell them; the public was still angry over the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor decades earlier.

"Everybody was doing good," Kevin Daly said. "They didn't need an entry-level car."But his father, who served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II, agreed to sell Datsuns."There wasn't much money [involved] to take the chance and it was a new car franchise, it added prestige to the lot," Kevin Daly said.

The Datsuns, with manual transmissions and no air conditioning, didn't do that well, maybe two or three or month were sold, so Mr. Daly continued to sell used cars. "It wasn't really designed for Americans," Kevin Daly said. "It was small."But in 1970 Datsun came out with the 240Z "and that put the car on the map," Kevin Daly said. "Coupled with the fuel crisis [Americans started] buying little cars. It was the first time anybody cared about a car that got 30" miles per gallon.Owning one of the first Datsun dealerships in the region turned Mr. Daly into a millionaire."He was like a pioneer here," Kevin Daly said.

Bill Daly's Nissan — featuring new and used cars as well as a service center — was sold in 1997 for several million dollars.

In addition to his son, Kevin, of Highland Ranch, Colo., Mr. Daly is survived by his wife, Nancy, of Lighthouse Point, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.